dimanche 29 juin 2014

52 weeks of pics for 2014

I recently got a book about flower photography... so I'm trying out...

mercredi 25 juin 2014

with luck and light...

I was walking in the small wood by a friend house... and I saw the light shinning on this white flower... and as I snap... I got lucky!


and... no filter, no edit... it was just a magical moment!

dimanche 22 juin 2014

52 weeks of pics for 2014

today I saw a nazgul looking at me from a dead tree...


it really look like this butterfly has a helmet and hold something in his hand... a flying nazgul?

mercredi 18 juin 2014

dimanche 15 juin 2014

"The Flash Gold Chronicles" series by lindsay Buroker

if you guys follow this blog you should know that I love the writing of Lindsay Buroker (review here, here and here). It is light, funny, has action and no dumb heroine! I have not read all of her books yet... But I intend to use my vacation time to explore the "rust and relics" series! just the name sounds great already...
One of the series I have discovered recently (thanks to a free book at smashword! I will never say enough how I love authors that let us have a taste of their writing with a full book) is "The Flash Gold Chronicles". The number four of "the flash gold chronicle" novella series is just out (five are to be expected), and to celebrate she bundled the first three and is looking for reviews! I thought it was a great moment to introduce you to this series!

These are not full-length novels but novellas... and the only problem with that... is that you want more!    I love to keep those for a quiet down time sunday afternoon... a small break when I know I cannot get immersed in a long book. Those short (or not so short, the last one is close to 90pages) stories still show a world that I just want to explore more!

"Flash Gold" is the first novellas
Eighteen-year-old Kali McAlister enters her steam-powered "dogless sled" in a race, intending to win the thousand-dollar prize and escape remote Moose Hollow forever. The problem? Fortune seekers and airship pirates are after her for the secret to flash gold, her late father's alchemical masterpiece.
With her modified rifle and a pocketful of home-made smoke bombs, Kali wouldn't normally hide from a confrontation, but taking on a whole airship single-handedly is a dauntin
g task. Unfortunately, the other racers won't assist her--they're too busy scheming ways to sabotage her unorthodox sled.
When a sword-slinging stranger shows up, wanting to hire on as her protector, she's sure he has ulterior motives, but he's the only one interested in helping her. The question is...why?

Here, we are steampunk, creation of devices is the hobby of our mechanical oriented geek heroine! and I have only one thing to say... "smoke nuts"! I do not often put quotes in my review... but that deserve  quote!
“I call them smoke nuts.”
“Because they make smoke and...?”
“The needles they expel tend to land about, er, nut-high.”
Cedar’s eyes widened. “Ouch.”
    Excerpt From: Buroker, Lindsay. “Flash Gold.” Lindsay Buroker. iBooks. 
    This material may be protected by copyright.
ok... now you get an idea of the tone of that series... By the way, my husband had the same reaction as Cedar... then he grinned!
  In that first book we are thrown into this world and into the race... We discover that a lot is going on, there is a lot of back story hinted at but not fully revealed... (we learn more as the series progresses). The story happens over a very short amount of time, full of action, of smoke nuts and it is a great read to spend a little time in another universe!

"hunted" book two
Self-taught tinkerer Kali McAlister is determined to build an airship and escape the frigid Yukon forever. Unfortunately, she’s the heir to the secrets of flash gold, an alchemical energy source that tends to make her a popular target for bandits, gangsters, and pirates. 
With the help of her bounty-hunting business partner, Cedar, Kali has outwitted and eluded attackers before, and she thinks she’s prepared for anything. Then her ex-fiancé strolls into her workshop.
As if fooling her once wasn’t enough, he aims to embroil her in a fresh scheme. Meanwhile, a new nemesis is stalking her, a shrouded figure with an arsenal of deadly machines that make Kali’s inventions seem like toys. This time, it’ll take more than her ingenuity and Cedar’s combat skills to survive. 

and "peacemaker" the last of that bundle
Half-breed tinkerer Kali McAlister doesn’t care that the gold rush has stormed into Dawson and prospectors are flooding the north—all she wants is to finish construction of her airship, so she can escape the Yukon and see the world. 
Unfortunately, the world keeps chucking wrenches into her machinery: a mysterious gambler is pumping her for information on her bounty-hunting business partner Cedar; the notorious gangster Cudgel Conrad is after Kali’s knowledge of flash gold; and a series of gruesome murders is plaguing Dawson. Someone—or something—is ruthlessly slaying tribal women, and, if Kali and Cedar can’t find the killer, she might be the next target. 

In those two stories, on top of the funny bits, the devices and the action-packed days, we get to learn a lot about the back stories of Kali but also Cedar! The main story arc is getting closer to completion (the series is supposed to have five books total) and things are getting more dangerous!

and if you still hesitate, the first one is free at smashword! so really no risk... except being hooked and buying the bundle!

52 weeks of pics for 2014

This was a lucky shot!! it just made my day! I was going for the reflection when that damselfly just decide to fly by...


I cannot wait for my new macro lense!

dimanche 8 juin 2014

52 weeks of pics for 2014

saw a bunch of dragonflies this week-end. found their favorite stick and camped

dimanche 1 juin 2014

52 weeks of pics for 2014

according to the local fishermen, who feed him from time to time, his name is Arthur.